Countdown by Michelle Maddox

Countdown
Michelle Maddox
SHOMI – Dorchester Publishing
July 29, 2008
ISBN# 978-0-505-52755-4

From the back cover:
THREE
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Kira Jordan wakes up in a pitch-black room handcuffed to a metal wall. She has 60 seconds to escape. Thus begins a vicious game where to lose is to die.

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TWO

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The man she’s been partnered with—her only ally in this nightmare—is a convicted mass murderer. But if he’s so violent, why does he protect her? And stranger still, what is it behind those haunted sea-green eyes that makes her want to protect him?

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ONE

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No one to trust. Nowhere to run. And the only hope of survival is working together to beat the

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COUNTDOWN

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My thoughts:
When Kira Jordan wakes, it’s to find herself handcuffed to a wall in the dark with no recollection of where she is or how she ended up there. The small-time thief is soon surprised to find that she hasn’t been left there alone, and the man she’s been stuck with is in worse shape than she is.

Rogan Ellis was an inmate serving a multiple life sentence for murder and rape when he’s forced into Countdown, a game that will either save him or leave him dead. If he and Kira can make it through the final level they’ll have a fresh future, freedom he thought he’d never see again.

Their first step is to get free of their restraints, but in order to do that one will have to trust the other to trade a key. They must stay together and work as a team to survive carrying out their instructions to each level, because their host has added a nasty little surprise for them if they try to separate. As the game progresses, Kira begins to suspect that Rogan knows much more about the game than he’s let on, and she intends to get some answers.

A new release in the SHOMI line, Countdown is a familiar concept with qualities that are fresh and unique. As Kira comes to accept her role in the deadly game she plays, her connection to Rogan continues to grow and confuse her. For Rogan, his past his twisted past weighs heavily on his mind, but a glimmer of hope and his determination to control his own future will get him through. Ms. Maddox molds a world where advanced technology can easily help or hurt those exposed to it. The story moves at a quick pace with danger around every turn. The characters are well defined and believable in their quest. The mixture of sarcastic humor and chemistry between the main characters will draw the reader deeper into the story, and the suspense of what the next level may hold will keep you at the edge of your seat. Countdown is an action packed taste of future possibilities.

Kimberly Swan, Darque Reviews